Mike had asked Richie to allow Ben and Bill to ride on Iris until they were far away and safe. He said they could fly, and it'd keep the Lucantians from finding them, since Bill had started slowing down purposefully, hoping they'd get caught.
Eddie had tried to convince Bill to speed up, but all he got was a scowl and slow walking. So, Richie made the two Lucantians get onto his dragon and flew up to the mountains where they'd be hiding. According to Mike, there were hidden caves where they left supplies in case of attacks.
Mike explained where the cave was, and thankfully Richie was able to figure it out. He sent Iris back to get Eddie and Bev, then Mike and Stan would follow to make their trip to the mountains quicker.
As soon as Richie found the hidden cave, he sent Iris out to get the others. He made Ben and Bill enter the cave and sit in a corner where he could keep an eye on them. It didn't take a genius to know that they'd try to escape.
Bill was clearly loathing being in the same space as Richie whereas Ben seemed uncomfortable and nervous.
"Are you going to glare at me all day or tell me why you hate me?" Richie asked Bill after ten minutes of silent glaring.
"I d-don't have to s-say a word to y-you, Tenebrian," Bill spat, looking at Richie like he was something disgusting left on the side of the road.
"Whatever, man. I can see why Eddie left you guys," Richie said with a dry laugh, running his hand through his hair.
"He d-didn't leave us for you. You guys ki-kidnapped him, I bet," Bill snapped, tugging against the restraints on his arms.
Richie had tied him and Ben up as soon as they landed so that they wouldn't be able to escape, since Richie was the only one with them. It pissed Bill off beyond words. He was angry with the Tenebrians for having the power, with Eddie for betraying them, and with himself for being stupid enough to follow his dumbass brother to some foreign land.
"So? I kept him safe, asshole. He told you that."
"Wh-what do you even w-w-want with him?"
Richie furrowed his eyebrows. "You think I like him because I want something from him? You're fucking insane," he said, hating Bill more and more.
"You al-always want s-something. Tenebrians don't care for p-people out of the goodness of their hearts."
"And Lucantians really are misinformed psychopaths."
Ben cut in, not wanting Bill to piss Richie off to the point where he attacked him. "Why did you take Eddie, though?"
"I didn't do it. Some guys I sort of worked with did. I never wanted anything bad to happen to him."
"Sure y-you didn't. He's a fucking id-idiot for trusting you," Bill snapped, his wrists being cut open by the ropes around them. "I s-swear to you, Tenebrian, that o-our families will f-find us and kill you! We know you're j-just using him for s-s-sex! All you are is a r-rapist and a disgusting p-piece of shit!"
Richie would've usually brushed off the venomous words, but for some reason, he couldn't. This was Eddie's brother. He truly though Richie was an insane, short-tempered piece of shit that just wanted Eddie to use him.
"That's not true," Richie said after taking a deep breath, his voice deep from unshed tears.
"Y-you're just m-mad that I'm right."
"No I'm not! You're wrong! I'm not any of those things!" Richie yelled, grabbing Bill and shoving him into the wall.
"If you're g-going to fight me, t-take off my restraints," Bill challenged, smirking despite the pain in his back from being slammed into a cave wall.
Richie knew it was stupid. He needed to calm down and let Eddie deal with his brother. However, in his angered, hurt state, all he wanted was to punch the stupid smirk off Bill's face. Richie took off the rope and was instantly shocked when Bill slammed his fist into Richie's jaw.
Richie may have been taller, but his talents consisted of being smart and lanky, being able to reach the highest branches during harvest, and running fast. Bill was more built than him from being fed every day.
Luckily, Richie was used to being in pain. He easily avoided Bill's next attack, slamming his own fist into his opponent's stomach.
"Guys, stop!" Ben yelled, unable to do anything because of his restraints. "Knock if off!"
The two shuffled around, throwing their own punches. Bill had a bloodied lip and a black eye, along with various bruises all over his body. Richie looked worse; his nose was bleeding heavily and his jaw was bruising where Bill had attacked him. He had bruises on his arms and along his chest.
"Is that all you got?" Richie asked, trying for a smirk.
Bill dove at him but Richie avoided the attack and tripped the Lucantian, landing on top of him. He threw punch after punch until Bill was unconscious, but didn't stop, even with Ben screaming at him to talk. Richie was trapped in his own head, words being repeated over and over.
You just want him for sex
He's stupid for trusting you
Disgusting
"Richie!" screamed a shrill voice, bringing Richie back from where his mind was trapped.
He stopped hitting Bill, turning and seeing Eddie standing in the mouth of the cave, Bev right by his side. They both looked horrified.
Bev had never known Richie to get that mad. Even if he was pissed, he usually just walked off to clear his mind. He'd never attacked someone.
"What the fuck, Richie?" Eddie yelled, kneeling down next to his brother, eyes widening at the damage. "Get the fuck off of him! What the hell were you thinking?!"
"I, uh-" Richie didn't get a chance to finish, as Eddie had turned around, pushing him even further away.
"Get away from him! You fucking idiot! Why the hell would you attack him?!"
Richie felt an arm grab his shoulder and he turned to see Bev giving him a sad look. She brushed past him and rummaged through one of the bags of supplies in the cave and found Eddie a first aid kit before returning to Richie's side.
"Come on, Richie. Let's get out of here while he takes care of his brother," she said gently, noticing how on edge Richie seemed.
"No, I can't. Eddie, I'm-"
"Get the fuck out of here, Richie," Eddie snapped before he got the chance to apologize.
Richie felt the lump in his throat, signaling he was about to cry. He knew he had fucked up. He'd attacked someone and didn't stop when he'd finally passed out.
He could have killed Bill.
Fuck, what if he did?
"Rich," Bev said, more urgently, grabbing Richie's arm. "Let's go, okay? You need to calm down."
"I am calm, Bev," Richie said weakly, but followed her anyway.
As he looked back into the cave, he caught Eddie's angry and betrayed expression.
It only made the tears fall quicker.
